Why do some companies bid on keywords for products they don’t even sell? Or fail to provide
basic information people need to make
decision to buy? Here’s a cautionary tale-- with a happy ending. Has this ever happened to you? I’m looking online for lamp shades. I go to Google and click on
top Sponsored Link in
right column: Expo.com. I’m taken to their “Lighting and Fans” page. There are 29 links in
left navigation, but no lamp shades. So I do a keyword search.
Products Found = 0.
All I can do is wonder why they wasted my time and their money, and move on to
next ad.
Close, but no cigar. Clicking on
second ad takes me to a home page with a “Shades” tab. I click on that and arrive on a page with information about sizes and a link to
lamp shade collection.
I start browsing and find one I’m interested in. The text instructs me to “Click on lamp image for detail.” I guess they mean lamp shade image. I click, and to my surprise, I see
exact same thumbnail I was looking at, but now I have four color choices and an “ad to cart” button.
OK, I’m a designer. I can appreciate subtlety. But what’s
difference between White, Off-White, Beige and Coffee? All this site shows me is a little grey photo-- but “Dirty” isn’t one of
color choices.